Written Answers

Monday 10 July 2000

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has responded to the Scottish Advisory Committee on Alcohol Misuse Action Plan and, if so, whether it will place a copy of that response in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Iain Gray: No formal response is available. However, the Scottish Executive has endorsed the Action Plan, and work is already in progress to implement its various strands.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is committing additional funding to combat alcohol abuse, given the percentage of violent crimes which involve alcohol abuse.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to tackling alcohol misuse and has made an additional £2.5 million available over three years to support national strategic developments.

Food

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to encourage supermarket retailers in Scotland to sell tomatoes grown in Scotland; whether it will seek a commitment from them that they will stock Scottish tomatoes, and whether it has made an assessment of any job losses if supermarkets do not stock Scottish tomatoes, both in the tomato growing sector and in grading and packaging operations.

Ross Finnie: I have met with a number of the major retailers to discuss a range of issues including the sourcing of quality Scottish products. I have obtained a commitment from several major multiples to stock Scottish goods, where they can be produced in sufficient volume. It is not possible to make any estimate of job losses in the industry should supermarkets not stock Scottish tomatoes as this would depend on market conditions elsewhere at the particular time.

Health

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether digital hearing aids are now widely available in the NHSiS.

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether individual health boards can decide whether or not to provide digital hearing aids.

Susan Deacon: Six different types of digital hearing aid are available to the NHS in Scotland as a result of central contracts negotiated by Scottish Healthcare Supplies. Whether an individual patient is prescribed a digital aid is a matter for decision at NHS Trust level based on clinical judgment and clinical priorities.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the current procedure for the suspension of a liquor licence.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has no plans to review the current procedure for the suspension of a liquor licence. The matter of liquor licensing is kept under general review.

Rail Network

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support, expertise and encouragement it is providing to the Glasgow CrossRail project.

Sarah Boyack: The Glasgow CrossRail scheme is a Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive initiative. The Scottish Executive has not been approached by SPTE for public funding or any other support.

Sheltered Housing

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it will offer to any residents of sheltered housing who have lost, or are about to lose, their night-time warden cover.

Iain Gray: Decisions about the provision of night-time warden cover are for the relevant local authority. We are aware that many local authorities are introducing alternatives such as combined warden and community alarm services.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to address the findings of the recent ASH Scotland/Health Education Board for Scotland survey on smoking in public places that over half of businesses in the Scottish leisure industry do not have smoking policies in place.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is committed to seeing a marked improvement in non-smoking facilities in leisure and hospitality amenities. The Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places which was recently launched by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, the Scottish Tourism Forum, the British Hospitality Association and the Brewers & Licensed Retailers Association of Scotland should help ensure this improvement. I will be looking for clear evidence that the Charter is working.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health’s report on the tobacco industry, whether its policy goals in relation to environmental tobacco smoke take account of the "real health risks it poses" as identified in the report and whether the Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places will include specific targets in this respect

Susan Deacon: The health risks from passive smoking are clear. The Executive will be working closely with Charter signatories to agree realistic and clear targets against which to measure its success.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health’s concern that the current Scottish guidance on the use of children in test purchase cases has not been modified, what action it intends to take in response to the committee’s recommendation about the achievement of a uniformity of approach towards tackling sales of tobacco products to children.

Susan Deacon: There is no action planned at present.

  The particular aspect of the guidance which applies, i.e. in relation to the use of children for test purchasing, is based on policy set by the Crown Office. The Lord Advocate has clearly stated that children should not be used to test purchase tobacco products as part of the local enforcement activity. This is also the view of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS). Scottish Executive officials are working with local government representatives on measures to improve enforcement of laws relating to underage sales.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health’s report on the tobacco industry, whether it intends to introduce a system of negative licensing in order to deter retailers from selling tobacco products to underage children.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is currently working with CoSLA and Scottish Trading Standards representatives to improve the enforcement of underage sales. However, there are presently no plans to introduce a system of negative licensing in Scotland.

Telecommunications

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations on the provision of improved telecommunications using the Wireless IP Local Loop System.

Henry McLeish: Yes, The Scottish Executive has received one letter asking about non-provision of WIPLL in a location in rural Aberdeenshire.

Telecommunications

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to Her Majesty’s Government on the regulation of, and equality of access to, new technology, with particular regard to the Wireless IP Local Loop System which is currently available in England.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including telecoms regulation. However, the roll out of the WIPLL system will be a commercial decision for individual telecoms companies.

Telecommunications

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Atlantic Telecom on the rollout of Atlantic e.com, the Wireless IP Local Loop System.

Henry McLeish: Atlantic Telecom announced the launch of Atlantic e-com, which uses WIPLL, in May 2000 in Glasgow. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with Atlantic Telecom, although the detail of the e-com project is a matter for the commercial judgment of the company.